Audrey Hepburn

Today would have been the 82nd birthday of Audrey Hepburn.

OK. I admit this began as just an excuse to have a picture of a very beautiful woman on my bland blog. But my captivation with her looks soon turned into a deeper fascination with her words:

"For Attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover why we have two hands: one for helping oneself, the other for helping others."

Apparently, someone else actually authored those words ... but Audrey lived them.

Audrey Hepburn was truly a child of the world. Technically British and schooled in England, she was actually born in Belgium, but grew up in Nazi occupied Holland. Then, of course, it was Hollywood where she enjoyed a prolific career as a film actress, voted by the American Film Institute as one of the top three actresses of all time. A truly amazing achievement for a self-confessed introvert. She might have been a famous ballerina, but for health problems arising from war time deprivations.

Audrey never forgot her war time experience as a child, and dedicated her latter years to tireless work for UNICEF throughout Central America, Africa and Asia, campaigning on behalf of the children who even today suffer as she saw others around her suffer when she was a child. During that time she observed:

"The Third World is a term I don't like very much, because we're all one world.

I saw but one glaring truth: These are not natural disasters but man-made tragedies for which there is only one man-made solution: peace.

I think perhaps with time, instead of there being a politicization of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanization of politics."

Reflecting on her words, I begin to see why Audrey Hepburn was voted "most beautiful woman in the world" (even though she described herself as "just plain too ugly"). Personally, I feel proud to declare her as one of my gurus, however unlikely she may at first seem to be for such a role. Audrey and I never met, yet she has been a profound inspiration to me.

Each and every one of us has an unlikely store of hidden potential to inspire others and better our world. Take a look around and seek out the most unlikely person. What secrets might they unfold as your guru? And what secrets could you reveal to them?

I'll leave you with Audrey's practical advice on how each of us might make our unique contribution to a better world:

"I tried always to do better:
saw always a little further.
I tried to stretch myself."

That, she most certainly did.

Let's follow.